We arrived at the small airport in San Luis Obispo a few minutes before the last flight out for the day. It was going to LAX, but from there, I could catch a flight to JFK.
“Bye, and thank you,” I said, hugging Quinn.
“Here,” she said, shoving something in my purse.
“What is that?”
“Cash.”
“I can’t.” I reached in to give it back to her.
“Just take it.” She kissed my cheek. “Go, or you’ll miss your flight.”
When I landed at JFK at six in the morning, there was a voicemail from a number I didn’t recognize. “Tara, it’s Vi Ripa. I got your message. It’s urgent I see you as soon as possible. Meet me at your father’s apartment as soon as you get this.”
It was just after eight when I walked into the lobby of my dad’s building. Twelve hours later, I was on a plane heading to Europe, traveling under an assumed identity, with twenty grand in cash and a burner phone.
3
Halo
When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital. How in the hell was I even alive? The plane had crashed.
“Where am I?” I asked when a woman walked into the room.
“Foundation University Hospital Metropolitano,” she answered with a strong South American accent. “You are a very lucky man to survive with so few injuries.”
“Were there…others?”
“One is in the room next door; one is in the ICU.”
“They lived? We all lived?” I mumbled. “I am alive, right?”
She set the clipboard she was holding down on the table by the side of the bed and smiled. “Yes, you are alive, but I’m going to check your vitals just to be sure.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Just a few hours. While you have several broken bones and suffered a head injury, you did not require surgery.”
“Are you certain?”
She took the stethoscope out of her ears. “About which part?”
“That I didn’t need surgery?” It sure as hell felt like I should have.
Before she could answer, the door burst open and Razor Sharp, one of K19 Security Solutions’ founding partners, rushed in.
“How is he?” he asked the nurse.
“Alive, which seems to surprise him.”
“Nothing wrong with my hearing.”
Razor came over to the bed and rested his hand on my arm. “Thank God you’re going to be okay.”
“She said one of the other victims is next door and another in the ICU. Do you know their condition?” I asked once the woman left the room.
“Tackle is about as banged up as you are. Onyx, though, he’s in bad shape.”